The figures show that there were 83 compensation claims lodged with Staffordshire County Council during the year-long period, but only one was successful. This resulted in a payout of £3,405.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council received 44 claims and paid out in eight cases, at a cost of £1,893.

In neighbouring Cheshire East, there were 58 claims made to the council - but none were successful.

Concern was raised after the shared space in Albion Street, Hanley, cracked and became uneven

AA president Edmund King said: “The Government and local authorities repeatedly encourage drivers to leave their cars at home and take to their feet or to two wheels for short journeys.

“But the state of the pavements means walkers are expected to run the gauntlet of pavement hazards that are just as dangerous as the potholes that can injure or kill cyclists and damage cars. Pavements are particularly dangerous at night and more so in places where street lights are switched off after midnight to save money.

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She said: "The state of the pavements affects people with disabilities greatly. If you have any kind of mobility problem it's a nightmare.

"It may seem a trivial thing, but if an elderly person falls and breaks a hip it doesn't mend. An injury can have life-changing consequences.

"I'm amazed how few people have got compensation paid to them compared to the number of claims."

A total of 127 claims were lodged with Stoke-on-Trent City Council and Staffordshire County Council in a 12-month period

Out of 421 councils that received the AA's FOI request, 365 responded. In total there were 10,572 claims made to those authorities - an average of 29 injury claims per council.

There were 859 successful claims with an average payout of £2,458 per person, while 66 councils made no payments to claimants. Just one local authority, Shetland Islands Council, said it had not received any claims.

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Councillor Daniel Jellyman, the city council's cabinet member for regeneration, transport and heritage, said: "In the interest of taxpayers, we fully investigate all claims made against the city council, and robustly defend claims where we feel that we are not negligent in law. Because of our robust challenge, of these claims, only 8 had payments on them.

“We are investing a total of £13.5 million in road and pavement maintenance this financial year as we are committed to driving up the condition for all users. The severe winter weather affected roads up and down the country. We’re committed to tackling this head on.

"Since April, we have carried out more than 5,000 repairs across the city. In recent years, we have also completed a number of public realm works in Burslem, around Stoke-on-Trent Station and the University, and the city centre, all designed to improve pavements and walkways and make areas more appealing to visitors.

“We want to encourage more people to be active and walk or cycle in the city. We are committed to making sure the city's roads and pavements are in a condition which allows people to do this."

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The county council said complaints were investigated on a 'case-by-case' basis. Helen Fisher, cabinet member for Highways and Transport, said: “In Staffordshire, we have a vast highways network compared to many other areas, with more than 6,000km of roads and more than 4,000km of paths to maintain.

“Defects which do occur are normally identified by our inspectors and repairs prioritised based on the risk to members of the public.

“Accidents do of course happen for a number of reasons and any complaints we receive are investigated on a case-by-case basis. These figures indicate a settled claim by one person over a 12 month period.”